jeff ling

When I set out to read The Christian Delusion: Why Faith Fails , I knew I wasn’t in for a particularly pleasant experience. My anticipation was that the author, John Loftus, had surely gone out of his way to paint believers in the worst possible light and he did not disappoint. After a few weeks of being mocked, ridiculed, taunted and despised, I finished the book that one reviewer stated “destroyed Christianity.”

I don’t think so.

Loftus will simply dismiss people like myself as delusional and uneducated. It’s a fact that John does have more degrees than I do and the man has worked hard at what he does. Even so, I wont concede to the status of a pea brain who has given no serious thought to his beliefs. I stand in good company. Countless numbers of brilliant people in all fields ascribe to the same faith as I and do so with confidence.

I read The Christian Delusion in order to better understand the arguments put forth by atheists. The book, which is a compilation of articles with Loftus as editor and a contributor, presents it’s material in a well written fashion with copious footnotes. All the usual subjects of attack are here: the authority of the Bible, the resurrection of Jesus, faith as a social construct, the goodness of God and, surprisingly interesting chapters on cruelty to animals and Nazism as an extension of Christian prejudice and hatred.

What is obvious from the outset is that Loftus and company are interested in only one side of the proverbial coin. For the most part, their sources are those who are already atheists or skeptics. When they quote those who are sympathetic to Christianity, the quotes tend to come from those who hold extremely low views of scripture. This provides a very skewed presentation in regards to Biblical authority. When John Shelby Spong is one of your go to guys for a theologian… well now you just look foolish. There is another side to the coin. There are scholars who date the gospels and letters much earlier than those Loftus and company consult, and who refute with expertise the idea that nothing can be really known of the historical Jesus. There are those who wrestle with the hard questions of faith without succumbing to atheistic views. There are believers who study the neuroscience of belief without dismissing the mystery of spirituality. The saying “it’s not where you start, it’s where you finish,” does not apply here. It does natter where you start. Loftus and company are starting from a closed system which holds no option for a God who could have possibly inspired the Biblical authors. So case closed. But, it begs the question as to whether or not the atheists here are being intellectually honest. Persuasive? maybe. Sarcastic? Undoubtedly. Honest? Hardly.

There are those who have written a comprehensive response to the book.  The Infidel Delusion by Patrick Chan, Jason Engwer, Steve Hays & Paul Manata is a chapter by chapter refutation of The Christian Delusion and well worth pursuing. For those interested, you can watch a debate between John Loftus and one of his favorite targets, Dinesh D’Souza, here.

Do I recommend the book? By no means. Those who need to do research on an academic level may want to read it but the effort can only render results that are mildly but usually mis-informative, slightly entertaining and hopelessly biased.

I still believe.

He is in his early 30s. Despite his relative youth, he is one of the best leaders I know. He previously led successfully in the business world. His life took a dramatic shift to seminary and, today, the local church. Today he is the senior pastor of a large church with multifaceted ministries.

I wish I had his maturity and leadership skills when I was that young. In reality, I wish I had his maturity and skill set today.

He shared with me his leadership philosophy. In the course of the fascinating conversation, something caught my ears. He said that in every leadership situation he found himself, he sought at least one “helpful messenger.”

I asked him to elaborate.

Unhelpful Messengers

This leader explained that most leaders listen too much to unhelpful messengers. That group of people can be divided into two opposite subsets.

The first type of unhelpful messenger only tells the leader how wonderful he or she is. These sycophantic people are attractive to leaders. We all enjoy having our egos built and our spirits lifted. We thus are prone to spend inordinate amounts of time with them. But if the messenger only has positive news, he or she is not helpful. We will not have an awareness of personal challenges and problems, and thus we do not address them.

Another unhelpful messenger is the constant critic. In opposite fashion of the sycophant, this person only has bad news. Something is always wrong. The leader always did something wrong. The whining is unending. Some leaders will give these negative messengers undue attention. The old metaphor of the squeaky wheel getting the oil applies in this situation. Leaders can neglect those who really need attention by spending inordinate time with people who will rarely be happy or satisfied.

Finding the Helpful Messenger

Helpful messengers are rare. Such a person has to have a clear understanding of the leader’s world, and he or she has to be willing to speak into that world and to that leader with frankness and clarity. If the leader is doing something well, the helpful messenger must be an affirmer and encourager. If the leader is getting off track, the helpful messenger must care enough about the leader to speak the truth even though it’s bad news.

I have been blessed to have a helpful messenger in most of the leadership positions where I served. My current position is no exception. His role is invaluable to me and thus to the organization. A recent example demonstrates his worth. The helpful messenger told me to be aware, that in some meetings, especially with people who don’t know me well, I can be perceived to be intimidating. That shocked me. My self-perception is that I’m as likeable as a teddy bear. He shared with me that my introverted personality is often seen as a form of aloofness. Because I tend to speak infrequently, my tone and words come across as very serious. And, because I have positional authority, my personality can thus appear to be intimidating. Now I understand that reality and can make adjustments accordingly.

The Need to Look in the Mirror

We all have a need to look in the mirror. We need to see ourselves with clarity, even if the metaphorical reflection is not so pretty. But the problem we often have is our inability to see ourselves objectively. My helpful messenger lets me know if I’m not seeing in the mirror clearly. He says what I need to hear, not what he thinks I want to hear.

Leaders without helpful messengers are handicapped in their leadership. They lack the objectivity to see themselves. The helpful messenger must be trusted. He or she must have courage and security. And that person must have the best interests of the leader as one his or her foremost priorities.

Great leaders seek helpful messengers.

And great leaders are willing to listen carefully to helpful messengers as well. 

Bob Webber

Scripture, history, and theology teach that the common rhythm of the story of God's saving work in Jesus Christ is fundamental to all Christian worship. It is the framework for free church worship as much as it is the framework for the liturgical churches. There is only one story to be told and acted out. (But there are various styles, formal and informal, in which the story may be told.) Robert Webber, Worship Is a Verb: Celebrating God's Mighty Deeds of Salvation (Peabody, MA:  Hendrickson Publishing, 1992), 59. March 28, 2011